


Flying from place to place

by Aitheria_Iah



Category: Original Work
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-26
Updated: 2016-12-26
Packaged: 2018-09-12 05:18:22
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,887
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9057193
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aitheria_Iah/pseuds/Aitheria_Iah





	

Wondering hillside, sea below

Zeus, almighty, is stalling the show.

Hera, proud beside him, stows the secrets away

With Argus keeping Io at bay.

Hermes, the swift and nimble, tricking to sleep

Leaving Hera to weep.

 

Delphi, Delphi, the very middle

Were Zeus’ eagle meet only to leave behind a riddle.

Such spirit, such belief

Leaving some in splendor and some in grief.

A temple for the one who sees

And answer is not in the trees.

Prophecy, praise, interpreting from the priest.

Given knowledge through the slaying of a beast.

Delphi, Delphi, the knowing land

Apollo, blessed be, slew a serpent with such grand.

 

Two of one, separate while entwined.

Chaos and Order were neither deaf nor blind.

Abyss, so dark and silent, so bleak

It isn’t meant to be met by the weak.

From Chaos, rose our world with Gaia and Uranos

From them came virulence.

Titans arose, twelve of them all

With each a domain and a bell for the ball.

When the titans were grown, Mother wished for Father to fall

So Kronos, youngest of them all, dethroned his father with little stall.

 

From these monstrous beings, the gods came about

History repeated when Zeus grew from a sprout.

With his body in pieces

Kronos reign creases.

 

While these infallible deities lived in the clouds on the mount

That begs the question, when did Humans come about?

Shrouded in mystery, tales so many

Wish for a story? There are plenty.

 

Deep in the depths of earth he slumbered

Hades, the lord of the underworld, waits for those whose life is numbered.

With his queen beside him, Demeter weeps for half a year while cheering for the other

Because she wishes to smother

A Daughter stolen

A daughter’s who kissing Hades until her lips are bruised and swollen

 

Many lost and many wandered

Looking for loved ones long gone but any attempt to resurrect was squandered.

Orpheus sung and played his music to lead Eurydice to the realm of living once more

But disobeyed his orders to gaze upon her and adore.

 

A pair of three, anger and beast

Cerberus and Eryines, guard and handle the realm of the deceased.

With water above, there’s fire below

With the river Phlegethon that flow.

Cries and sorrow, forget in oblivion

Cocytus, Acheron, and Lethe, the waters colored obsidian

Vow and oath

Sworn on the Styx, don’t make one feeling loathe

 

Wandering down into the dark and damp

Goals that are under the gamp

Elysian Fields

While field of punishment many it yields

 

Darkest pit in hell

Where a body lay scattered, waiting to put a hero under a spell

To pull them under and pull him up

For his anger has risen and he needs to teach his pup

Contrite isn’t what he feels

Manipulation is part of his deals.

Tartarus so dark and barren,

Haven to the monster but not a varan

 

A feather-like touch, lovers’ caress

Looking upon Aphrodite, the welling feeling is bless

But with her beauty comes vain and temper abound

For Pysche knows most profound

 

The mama’s boy listened and obeyed

As Aphrodite ranted and raved

When the temples empty for Pysche’s mortal beauty

Eros was ordered abuse his duty

With an arrow to her body

Ill-temper and manner was her love to be not to mention bawdy.

Though Love’s son fell for the mortal

He fell for Pysche’s beauty and chortle

With love came marriage

Flying high in Eros’ carriage

One simple rule and only one law

Pysche can never look upon her husband’s face in awe

 

With trust broken and love disappearing

Eros left Pysche tearing

Wandering where she never be

Without purpose she did flee

To Aphrodite’s temple, she went

The goddess laughing in glee and whose care wasn’t even a dent

 

With tasks before her

She wasn’t lacking in help despite Aphrodite’s hope to spur

But in the end she wished for her beauty

And fell into Death’s arms of sleep, where Eros found her off duty

With tears of sorrow and hands so gentle

He wiped the fatigue away and it was monumental

With love in his gasp and heart so light

Eros nursed her back to health with his face in sight

Nectar of the gods and ambrosia in plenty

Immortality cost more than a pretty penny

 

Pranks, Dares, and Tricks for many

No matter the age, five or twenty

Wishes a wish to gain anything

Hermes is the man to ring

With feet so nimble and wings for light

It isn’t surprising that no one can catch him be it day or night

From the age of a babe

He stole Apollo’s prized cows without being bent out of shape

From Greece to Thessaly and back

Surely a baby couldn’t go on that track.

 

With hatred and resentment

Prometheus protected the mortals and their contentment

Zeus, angry and vicious

Withheld fire from the humans, that wasn’t very suspicious

From the forge of Hephaestus, Prometheus stole

A flame that would heat any coal

 

Hephaestus was told

To craft a woman as good as gold

Pandora was gifted with allure

Hermes was her tutor and he made sure

That she could deceive

As well as any could believe

 

She was give and gift to gift to one’s brother

Yet opening released on evil and another

Only hope remained

With humans punished so and chained

 

Prometheus was next

Strapped to rock with chains and his muscles flex

As the eagle pecked at his liver

Though ichor ran like a river

No relief came

For a thousand years his organ was claim

‘Til Hercules released him

That long chained left his scars rather grim

 

 

With Eagle wings on high, flying far above the sky

We cross the mighty land to traitorous fields below, we hear the babe cry

 

Weeping tears form the river

Which acted as a deliver.

Romulus and Remus given life

The wolf never expected the coming strife.

Arguments and battles between the two

The bandits that stuck together like glue.

 

Sons of war and hated by their grandfather

The cubs grew strong with their adopted father and mother

Who would have thought that the greatest empire of them all

Would come from the bloodshed of a brawl

 

Walls, wars, and women

Battles and tastes of sour lemon

Death flew on arms of a brother

When Romulus smashed Remus in the head like no other

 

The mighty gods you’ll never guess

Are one and the same with different names and dress

From Zeus to Jupiter and Hera to Juno

Just because they go by a different name, doesn’t mean that they’re any different ya know

Apollo never changed

Well his ego surely left many deranged

Athena to Minerva and Hermes to Mercury

The trickster never stays in his nursery

 

Love and War go hand in hand

With Venus marking her puppet’s like a brand

With Aeneas and Dido, players of her chicanery

Leaving his lover for his thought of bravery

With curses and threats and vagary Dido died

Burned on the pyre, she was by her lost husband’s side

 

Mother, Mother forgive me please

I’m here on my knees

Pleading and begging for all to see

So where could you be

 

They said to find you

And look beyond the view

You hid from us for so long

And none of us were strong

 

It was a lady, isolate and abandoned

That brought you back and cleared her off her the name she was branded

Mother oh Mother, we call you name

Cybele, you brought us the glory and fame

Our war is won

It wasn’t very fun

But we did it

With you at the head, we did it bit by bit while using cunning wit

 

This way or that

Janus would know but he’s a bit of a brat

With tricks and riddles

He’ll play to the tune of his own fiddles

The one that’s feared the most

Is Neptune the god of the sea and his furious temper is no reason to boast

 

Strength and power and fame

Is all they wished to gain, it burned in them like a flame

With invasions and raids, their ships at sea

A dragon at the head, they fought with dignity and glee

 

Battles and bloodshed, fear is nowhere

To die in battle is hardly rare

The goal is Valhalla

It will be quite a gala

 

Hills, lakes, falls, and forests not to mention large rocks

Dwellings they be for spirits of land who give no care for the clocks

Great help they be

Food will see them kneeling on bended knee

Counsel they give

On many such as hunting, fishing, rearing the animals on the farm to live

 

Dreams, dreams they see

Counsel they give and all knowing they be

 

Mars, red and bloody

Tiwaz, they linked but his lawmaking wasn’t muddy

He’s seen in Tyr, when he binds the wolf, Fenrir

Who was feral

 

One step, two step, both beneath

The mistletoe which two shall kiss and wearing sheath

Though Loki tricked

The blind to inflict

Pain and death to Balder

Son of Odin, that wasn’t killed by alder

Hermod the bold

Rode until saw the souls of the old

To beg for Balder to return

 

“Only if all beings on earth weep for him” said Hel, stone face and stern

Upon his recur, He told Odin and Frigg what he was instructed

Soon the world was flooding with tears of sadness as they all had been conducted

Though one sat in her cave with dry eyes

She Cries

“What use is he to me?”

The Giantess was thought to be Loki and that filled them with anger, they captured him as he tried to flee

The trickster was punished

By being strapped to a large rock such rubbish

Venom leaked on to his face by a snake so great

His faithful wife, Siger, stayed by his side with a bowl and wait

To catch the dripping venom

Father, Father do you hear me call

Odin, ruler of Asgard and father of all

His spear came from Tiwaz, ability to control battles had in his hand

Close links he had with the underworld land

The Berserks, dedicated followers, wore bear and wolf in battle

Voluntarily branded like cattle

Ecstasy and pleasure left impervious to pain

They fought for Odin’s reign

His gift was given to poets and orators

god of magic and divination, one never knew what was down the corridors

Sacrifices made even by Odin himself for reason

Hanging from the World Tree knowledge flowed regardless of the season

Bandaged on one side since Odin took his own eye

His constant companions were always by

Wolves and ravens followed him into battle

Two ravens flew and brought him news like tattle

 

Lightening and rain and thunder oh my

Thor, son of Odin and god of thunder with a hammer which can fly

Trips to Jotunheim to slay giants

Have an enemy, ask him he’ll probably take clients

He hooked the World Serpent on a fishing line

His trip with Hymir was anything but fine

He had to catch his own bait; Hymir’s own largest ox

They fished on the water, not on the docks

Thor pulled the creature up until its head broke the surface

Thor pushed his feet through the boat Planted firmly to sea bottom with a purpose

Serpent spat poison, Thor raised his hammer

But Hymir cut the line with a clamor

With the loss of prey

He threw the giant overboard and then waded away

 

Our roots reach deep

The Tree of Life our foundation keep

World Ash or Yggdrasil, call what you will

It is sturdy and scarcely ill

Holding realms, ten in all

Midgard, we humans reside, starting at the time we can’t crawl

Asgard, far above us, the gods train for the end

Vanaheim, Vanir they be our friend

Jotunheim, Giants, our enemies

We’ll probably fight for centuries

Alfheim and Svartolfheim, elves

Light and Dark, they keep to themselves

Hel, just short of an ‘l’ were the dead rest and sleep

Either there or Niflheim where the only sound is a weep

Furious little things they be

Dwarves in Nivdavellir you see

Our roots don’t reach the sea

They reach Muspell, burning blistering fire there be

Empty world, empty planet, Ginnungagap was the greatest emptiness there was

There was nothing in the world, no living being, it gives reason to pause

In the south, there sprout

Rivers of poison and lakes of fire

Realm of Muspell, it was quiet dire

The burning realm lack fertile ground

Nothing was going to grow abound

To the north, it freeze

Niflheim with icy fountains so cold one could barely sneeze

Sky always dark and mountains of ice

The odds were bad so don’t roll the dice

Years among years Muspell met Niflheim, the ice melt

The first being emerged with only a pelt

Ymir was he

Next emerged a cow and liked the giant with glee

He drank its milk and grew and grew

Mountains and mountains and soon there was more than two

From the mountains came, Buri and lady wife

A son named Bor and from him more life

Bor had Odin, the king of gods

Ymir was cruel and brutal, it wasn’t good odds

Evil acts and evil deeds

Saw to Ymir being slain for personal needs

His body formed the earth

It was well viewed in its worth

His blood the sea

Drowning in it we be

His flesh the land

This wasn’t actually the plan

His bones the mountains and his hair the trees

All was not at ease

The sky from his skull

Four pillars held it up though it was never dull

The sparks from Muspell like fireflies

Odin created the sun and moon to set the skies

The shining sun and glimmering moon

The new world in Ginnungagap was looking past the doom

The ice would melt

Plants and trees grew like you had never felt

Greatest tree of all

Yggdrasil the very center of the ball

Roots reached the bottom of creation

While leaves that reached the sky covered all nation

Midgard came with Odin’s satisfaction

Middle land there was no people to take action

Trees that had fallen, ash and elm

From mud there came at the helm

The first man and woman

Breath of life Odin gives to those once inhuman

Gifts of reason and feelings

Hearing and sight they were dealings

Ask the man and Embla the woman brought about the human race

Tasked with care of Midgard was the case

The gods ascend

To Asgard in the end

 

In death there be Ymir’s revenge you see

His sisters mourn and weeping they be

They wished for revenge

And searched and searched, they probably should have checked the Stonehenge

The two of them

Gather at the stem

And carved some lines

Each were signs

Human life they represent

With each twist and turn and how they were bent

They start with birth and end in death

All mapped out until final breath

Each ending cut deep to ensure the weak

For humans can never surpass gods, that’s a sneak peek

Spells so powerful

Nothing could change, that realization was quite sorrowful

Yggdrasil became the tree of life

And humans knew death like a knife

 

Death, Death woe is me

To suffer in misery

I fight and fight till I can no more

I hope Valhalla is not a bore

Hall of the slain

We practice but never maim

I was brought on angel’s wings

Valkyries, never anger them, they are fierce like kings

We wait and wait and wait some more

Till Ragnarok comes to light the world on fire fit for roasting s’mores

 

Loki is free

To do as he please

He let the Giants in

Really shouldn’t be surprised that he was a lynch pin

Thor with hammer in hand

Keeps the Giants from their homeland

Odin, Fenrir devoured in a single bite

Thor has slain the World Serpent but with poison in veins expires despite his glorious might

Set the world aflame

Erupting in a blaze without shame

The covering sky

Falls with clouds passing bye

Flooding of the sea

Though the earth is in ruins, this is not the end to be

Human pair

Sheltered in the World Ash, they had been spare

Repopulated the world has come

And the Sun’s new journey to the beat of a new drum

 

Crying weeping, hollering we be

For our loved ones at lost as we can see

Buried beneath the soils

Great trials and tribulations and bathed in oils

Cremating was another way

Although it took many hours from the day

Rank and strength play a part in it all

Wither they be buried or burned to join in the Great Hall

Warriors with weapons

The ruler a scepter to ascend in the heavens

The lit a fire

Be it pyre, boat, wagon, or cart, watch out for the trip-wire

 

It was once said

‘Romeo, Romeo were for art thou Romeo’ leading to the two being wed

Like Juliet from High above

He, seated on Odin’s throne, saw his fair dove

Freyr looked deep in the underworld

And saw Gerd, and such desire in his stomach curled

For fear of loss

Not wishing to meet hostile giants nor cross

He stayed

Causing his mother to have to come to his aid

Skadi begged and pleaded

Skirnir to get her son what he thought he needed

With gifted magic horse and sword

He reached the hall of Gymir and began to play a cord

Horse leaping through flames

That surrounded the building like frames

Golden apples and Odin’s wealth-giving ring

But Gerd didn’t wish for anything

She refused the proposal

Sword was used to threaten disposal

When told that that refusal would bring

The gods’ wrath would ring

Finally she broke

Gerd agreed with marriage and it wasn’t a joke

 

Loki, Loki, Loki, such a bad boy

You probably feel little joy

Wordsmith, sliver tongue

Devil’s advocate, you’re still so young

Mother, Father, birther, bearer

Most your children caused much terror

A horse, a wolf, a snake

One which caused the earth to quake

You conniving man

Able to convince the clan

To trust a giant in disguise

To build a wall of far great a size

For Asgard needed protection

All fit for inspection

The builder’s desires

For his hires

The moon, the sun

And Freyja for a wife, either all or none

Finished before winter was the plan

Any later and he’d be a lonely man

Builder had to go solo

Could have no help from man, be it friend or foe

Except he had no help but a stallion

You’d think he had the help of battalion

Three days before payment due

For sure you

Can see the anger of the gods

The blame was placed on Loki, what odds

He was told to fix it

With quick wit

Loki thought of a plan

One far beyond man

He transformed into a mare

Led the stallion away and later would bear

The wall was unfinished

Builder’s patience diminished

Replaced by anger and soon

It was discovered that the Builder was both a giant and a loon

Aesir depended on Thor to slay him

Sleipnir came from Loki and the stallion’s time beneath the brim

He was the steed of Odin with eight legs

Going between worlds with barely any whines or begs

 

One and the same

Though one with forked tongue and the other spew flame

Good or evil

One causes an upheaval

Jormungand was a threat

Odin threw him into the sea and he got all wet

Nidhogg is gnawing at the roots

Hoping to destroy all hopeful fruits

 

Dragon lying in wait

Let’s hope it sleeps and doesn’t rise for the bait

But the dragon wasn’t all there be

You see

For there was the monster, Grendel

Oh poor baby boy, Wendell

That’s the only word that rhymes

But that is a story for different times

Beowulf, a warrior

But don’t shot the courier

He went to the Geats

He marched to his own beats

He wished to help Hrothgar, the Danish King

And help he bring

He defeats the man-eating monster

He did conquer

Then appear

Grendel’s mother, oh dear

Tracked and hunted down

Beowulf found her lair rather far from town

It was beneath a lake

She was put to death it wasn’t a fake

Beowulf he reign

For fifty years with wit and brain

When old age came

There was a dragon that threatened his kingdom and couldn’t be tame

Which guarded a treasure in burial mound

Its wrath grew abound

When a drinking cup was stolen

Surely someone’s ego swollen

The Dragon flew to overwhelm the kingdom

With shield to resist fire, Beowulf went out to meet

His warriors behind him pounded their feet

The sword could not pierce the scales

Facing the dragon, he stood alone, as his comrades left with hidden tails

Though one loyal chieftain remain

With Beowulf’s neck in its jaws

Wiglaf never gave pause

Piercing the underbelly with his sword

But Beowulf couldn’t lay there bored

He drew his knife

Together they ended the Dragon’s life

Beowulf was weak due to dragon breath

In the midst of his death

He gave the all goods

Including his neck-ring and armor which wasn’t found in the woods

To Wiglaf

 

Sigurd, son of Sigmund

He wasn’t that much of an enigma

His father’s shattered sword

His mother gave to him in a horde

Fostered by Regin who taught him many skills

Sigurd had chosen horse which could fly over the hills

With Odin’s help, he gained Grani the horse

Sleipnir was his source

Sigurd was told of a treasure guarded by the Dragon

Fafnir his brother, they were born in the same wagon

The treasure had a story

Regin and Fadnir had another brother

He was Otter, they all had the same mother

He was eating fish from his river

When Loki hit him with a rock and killed him, taking his otter skin sliver by sliver

When Odin, Loki and Hoenir lodged with the Father

They didn’t think that they would be a bother

But Hreidmar imprisoned them and made demands

That they cover the skin in gold, even if it’s from all the lands

Loki was sent to capture dwarf and took all his gold

Even a ring that multiple wealth without being told

But Andvari the dwarf placed a cursed

He’s probably not the first

The ring would bring destruction to all who own it

All the gold and jewels was needed to fit

Before the skin was covered they all escaped

A plan was then shaped

Fafnir killed his father for the gold

And made himself a dragon of old

To guard his new treasure

Regin persuades Sigurd to vanquish Fafnir much to his pleasure

He forged to swords

But each one broke, they weren’t fit for battle lords

Sigurd used the fragments from his fathers

Altogether he gathers

Regin forged a blade with tremendous power

Had such ability it made enemies cower

Sigurd dug a pit

All for him to sit

Stab the dragon from below

When he came to drink from a flow

Odin appeared as an old man

To say that that was a bad plan

That Sigurd would drown in blood

It would all flood

Odin said to dig several pits

This helped the hero not call it quits

Fafnir was stabbed under the shoulder

His body probably was a like a boulder

Regin wanted his brother heart

Roasted whole not in part

So that he could eat

But he accidently burned himself due to the heat

His finger was bleeding

He gained a gift that he was needing

He understood the chirping of the birds

Those little noises became words

They told him how

Regin had made a vow

To kill Sigurd the hero

His calm went from 100 to 0

Sigurd chopped of his head

Just like Henry VIII to make sure he was dead

The cursed ring soon brought

Sigurd his death, but his journey was for naught

He was killed by Brynhild who was jealous of Sigurd’s wife

And so he took Sigurd’s life

 

Let’s cross the English Channel to travel

To the land of green with no gravel

They had no temples or worship place

They relied on nature not to be contained behind a glass vase

Though there was a veil

Between this world and the other, it was quite a trail

But the veil was so thin

That relations among the gods and the humans were almost like kin

The gods and spiritual beings live in the otherworld that rests

Magic keeps humans from seeing the spiritual places, they are such pests

The gods had no human quality

With connections to nature they might even have mortality

The men were responsible for skills while women were natural elements

Such drama couldn’t even be written by Aeschylus

 

Druids helped lead

Performing rituals and sacrifices that don’t require you to bled

The Romans once said

That human sacrifices were lead with dread

But there is no proof

So there it is basically spoof

Stories were not written but sung

The Druids and Bards were probably trained young

 

Celebrations

They are all over different nations

Samhain or Halloween

Some traditions are probably off-scene

It was a transition

From summer into winter was its mission

The veil so thin that the dead could return

To warm their bodies without burn

Mortals could cross through portals

Or doorways sidhe, they are not immortals

During time of peace, cattle were boarded for the winter and warriors refrained from war

But there is always more

Imbolc, the coming of spring

Named for all the new life that it bring

Associated with the goddess Brigit who came as three

Fire of Inspiration she be

Patroness of poetry

Or so the experts say supposedly

Fire of the Forge

Patroness of smith-craft and martial arts

That is only the second of all the parts

Fire of the Hearth

Patroness of healing and fertility

She is just full of ability

Beltain, arrival of summer

There is joy and love declarations they is only one or two who are a bummer

Large fires were lit at night

Through the cattle hopeful not giving them a fright

It would cleanse the animals of evil spirits and diseases

Scared to the god Belenus, they hope it pleases

He was god of light

Protecting sheep and cattle throughout day and night

Lugnasa was the harvest

Sacred to the god Lugh, he was an artist

Great god of every skill

 

Oran Morl, The Great Melody

It was not part of the family: felidae

Sang into a holy whole creation into existence

Original Paradise has been shatter and divided it is so distance

This world is where the mortals live

Other world is the land of gods and ancestors; they do not use weapons or knives

Trees were the ancestors of mankind

Who provided the alphabet which was unseen by the blind

Celtic tree of Life stood at the center of the universe

The tree was oak, its power they were immerse

The tree was sacred to Taranis, god of Thunder

He was not Irish how we all wonder

He is found in the Gualish pantheon

Danu, the mother was not gone

Tautha De Danaan were her children

They are only some in a million

They later defeat Fir Bholg in the First Battle

Of Mgh Tuiredh it is all scrabble

Daghdha, Brigid, Naudhu, Lugh, Dian Cecht, Ogma, and Lir were all members

The fire of life is still embers

 

When death came upon us, our soul does travel

From the present world to the afterlife all our stories come unravel

Death brings

Complete bliss, eternal youth, and beauty, music, dance, and abundance things

Tir na n-Og or Isle of the Blest

Tir na n-Og and Mag Mell are similar, who’d have guessed

Mag Mell believed to stand to the west

Referred to as Hy-Brasil or the Land of the Young, keep the names close to your chest

Time is irrelevant, no aging, the land’s never dull

Each person has a pull

On night and day

No one comes back, they don’t hold any sway

Irish though

Reincarnation wasn’t necessarily a no

Nantosuetta was the goddess of the dead

Sucellos was the death god though the two aren’t wed

Sucellos wield a hammer

He was also the ferryman, they were no glamor

Tethra is the king of the Otherworld and ruler of Mag Mell

 

Adventures, journeys, voyages, they all be

Somewhere that were we could never see

Places with hostile power, timeless content

Feast and enchanting music you’d hear if you went

Old age and death is unknown

Enter through lakes or caves, you won’t hear those old bones groan

Conla saw a woman who called to him

Wanting him to cross to the Plain of Delight, it was quite a whim

Conn of the Hundred Battles, Conla’s father barks out orders

To the druids to secure the borders

To prevent the invisible woman from luring his son away

Even though they all could hear her clear as day

As the druids chanting goes

She disappears, before she does throws

An apple

For a month this sustains him his on a decline if only he had a rappel

Conla refused all other foods

I only wonder about his moods

The apple never diminished

No matter how much he finished

With each bite he longs to see

The woman that that was probably never meant to be

Except she comes a second time

And says that they could be together in her ship of glass, is love such a crime

They sail away in a crystal coracle

Never to be see again not even by the oracle

 

Mael Duin’s ship tells

How how Mael Duin’s sails

To avenge his father’s death

Even if it led to his final breath

Druid’s instructions

Are followed directly, there is no deductions

Mael Duin’s foster brothers fail to follow through

With the number of voyagers as a crew

They swim out to join

Their thoughts are barely worth a coin

When the ship docks at the island

They aren’t able to get to highland

A great storm rises and drives them away

They let their ship sail were it pleases with God leading it his way

They came to 31 islands each with terrors of its own and wonders none could imagine

Swarms of ants, as big as foals they were so madden

Beast with feet like hounds prancing all around

It wants to eat them and not let a single one drown

They soon came upon a silver pillar

With a silver net reaching far out from its top wonder if this movie is a thriller

Ship sails through the mesh

One takes a cut for a fresh

Sacrifice at Armagh should they make it home

They came to the Land of Women maybe this road leads to Rome

Feasting was over; man lay to sleep with woman beside him

Mael Duin slept with the queen, limb over limb

Invited to stay and live forever

Enjoy the pleasures they had tasted ending never

Mael Duin’s companions beg and plead for them to leave

The queen threw a ball of thread and when caught she heave

Pulling the ship back to land

Three times this happened, she pulled by hand

Mael Duin decided

And let another man catch the ball of yarn he guided

It was stuck on his hand and his arm was cut off

I wonder if he screamed much less cough

They saw a falcon fly south and to the west

With a tight feeling in their chest

They followed along

And soon found Ireland, just where they belong

They lay the silver mesh on the altar

Of Armagh and recounted their tales without falter

 

Oenghus god of love

Plays the harp with four dove

He found himself in love with a maiden

His heart was laden

With love and affection

His nights were filled with dreams and soon he had conviction

For a year he searched

He and his mother Boann searched Ireland, they never remained still and perched

Daghdha his father, helped for another year

For his son’s darling dear

But she couldn’t be found

It took Bov the Red to find her after year three, oh he just might be crowned

Though now she was found didn’t mean he had her

For he had to pick her out of a group that it were

A group of swans, for she was turned into one

Along with 149, hun

They all transformed with the start of the year

But have no fear

For the god of love picked his maiden

Caer from the group atop the lake

Though with a twist, Aengus turned into a swan himself, but at least it wasn’t a snake

They flew away together

Singing a song so enchanting all that heard would watch the sun gleaming off their white feather

As they slept for three days and nights

But then they wake to see the lights

 

Bacon bacon

Oh how my stomach’s a achin’

At least he don’t go huntin’ for our food

But Grainne didn’t think it was too good

She was to marry a man Finn

But she decided that she was going to put a spin

On this tale of hers

Mainly because she much prefers

Diarmaid who she eloped the day before her marriage

He stole her heart and carried it off in a carriage

But she had him under a spell

Finn and his men pursued them wanting to find where they dwell

Oenghus god of love and foster-father spirits them away

Couple wander through Connacht and Munster led by the light of day

They soon became lovers

Having the decency to keep it under the covers

They lived happily until the great hunt of the boar

The boar had once been Diarmaid’s foster-brother according to lore

He was foretold to bring about his brother’s death

Diarmaid was wounded by the boar so badly it hurt to draw breath

His only chance to live is the draught of water from the healing hands of Finn

Finn comes twice with water but remembering Grainne he couldn’t let Diarmaid win

He lets the water trickle through his fingers

Diarmaid does not lingers

Aengus bears his body to Brugh na Boinne the ancient burial ground

Of Newgrange in County Meath, he lays there no making a sound

 

Severus Snape with his potions

He wasn’t very good with emotions

His cauldron bubbling

It wasn’t nearly as troubling

As Daghdha’s cauldron of plenty

“No company went away unsatisfied” oh how it feed so many

The Second Battle of Magh Tuiredh brought humiliation

With a truce in place the Fomorians prepared Daghdha’s favorite meal, it was such temptation

They had the idea to mock him, filling the cauldron with measures of new milk and meal and fat

Along with goats, sheep, and swine well at least they avoided bat

They boiled the mixture and poured it in a hole in the ground

Daghdha was to consume it all until he was round

Or be slain

It was all drain

He even used fingers to scrape out remains

With such strains

He fell asleep

Upon awaking, he saw a beautiful girl that he’d rather keep

He was unable to make love to her with such a belly

He probably didn’t name her Kelly

 

Hundreds upon hundreds there were

Like all gods it probably wasn’t hard for their wrath to be incur

Common there were little

Wooden statues were most likely whittle

 

Epona

He accompanied the souls

To the otherworld, I’m sure the horse god had other goals

 

Lugh

Mercury the Roman’s call

For his skills encompass all

 

The Morrighan

Triad or Three

Goddess of strife, and fertility

She consists of

Badhbh, Nemhain, and Macha, she was no dove

Daughter of Danu

 

Cermunnus

The image he portrays

Can cause your eyes to glaze

For the horns on his head

Are not scary to the dead

His domain contains

Wild animals, but not grains

Hunting fertility and life

Abundance and underworld hopefully with little strife

Danu, Great Mother, his lover she be

 

Nuadhu

Irish god of healing

I have a feeling

The Roman and Greeks called

Him Apollo as he had been installed

The sun, childbirth, and youth

We don’t know if he spoke much truth

Weapons and warfare

Lost arm in battle due to little care

 

Animals, animals all around

Some that leap and some that bound

Each with meaning of its own

Throw a dog a bone

Stag

So majestic and elegant

So beautiful I really can’t handle it

Cenunnos’s sacred animal

Meanings are hardly rational

Boar

Strong and fearless, protection in battle

You also might just hear a rattle

Arduinna’s sacred animal

Bird

How you fly so free

High, so high, above the tree

Messengers of the gods

Representation of mortal lives and odds

With grand old meanings

Different birds have different leanings

Serpent

Rebirth

How you slither across the earth

Ouroborus, a life without ending

The circle is always bending

Horse

Beside Rhiannon, Macha, Epona

There’s also a nebula

Victory in war and endurance

They were so generous

Fish

Wise and knowledgeable

They were also profitable

Connected to wells and springs

Their healing left doctors circling in rings

Bull

Physical and mental strength

Wealth at any length

They represented the male and female

Sex without fail

 

From cool springs and pools of water

Let’s go somewhere slightly hotter

Where the Nile runs

Filled with water by the tons

It had its own god

Hapi, to help balance the odd

As well as a goddess

Anuket, Egyptians didn’t wear a bodice

They prayed for the river

To be high and life giver

So they may harvest the crops

But if the river was low then the harvest drops

 

Flooding the soil

The harvest was toil

Thanks was given to Renenutet the cobra

She wasn’t a boa

With wheat, fowls, fruits, and vegetables as offerings

Hoping that they would be no more sufferings

A sheaf of wheat was given

To Min, god of vegetation and fertility so that they may be forgiven

 

The cycle of the sun

Egyptians are not American

Pharaohs rose and died

Such obvious they had nowhere they could hide

With each death was transition

They were placed in a new position

Become Osiris, god of the underworld

For power curled

In their bodies as they pass

Pharaohs don’t die in mass

This ensures the land prosperity

Human affection was a minority

 

Creation there be

Four stories for one earth is what we see

Each come with each new time

One after another, are they even worth a dime

All begin with Nun, the black ocean

From there rose a hill, what a notion

 

The serpent Apep embodied destruction

There was very little actual production

First deity sat upon the ground

He took the form of a bird to perch upon the mound

 

Another story be about the primeval lotus

Did you take notice

It rose from the waters

And opened for an infant god who had no sons or daughters

Equipped with much powers

It poured down like showers

He had Hu, Sia, and Heka, what

Authoritative Utterance, Perception, and magic that’s the cut

 

Using such skill

He knew the drill

Creating order from chaos

There would be an oasis

 

Maat, this order was called

Constantly in danger of not surviving the scald

Of chaos where it first came

 

The first god became lonely

If only

So then

He made gods and men

Deities were made from sweat

They were not in his debt

Humans from tears

They would age with the years

 

Amon-Ra was worshipped in Thebes

He was not plebes

He was fertility, with the cosmic egg

Life came to walk on we call leg

 

Atum came

From Heliopolis, he did claim

Ra-Atum was the evening sun

Who returned to the womb of Nut when all was said and done

 

Khnum is from Elephantine, a southern island

It wasn’t very highland

Thought to control the rising of the Nile

He did have some style

The ram was his animal

That is factional

He’s the father of fathers and mother of mothers

There were others

He shaped humans from clay

Using his potter’s wheel all day

Ptah was in Memphis

He was not a chemist

Crafts was his domain

He wasn’t a bane

Fashioning kings and gods

After precious metals in wads

He created all by thinking

Of them in his heart they were linking

And then he was speaking

Out of his mouth, their names came leaking

 

Nine gods of Heliopolis

They made it quite a metropolis

They were called Ennead

I hope it didn’t go their head

First was Ra-Atum, from the mound in the sea

He never had to make a plea

Splitting man and female

Taking his semen in his mouth and spat it out, he didn’t have a pail

He made Shu god of air

It was done with little care

Along with Tefenet goddess of moisture, doesn’t sound like too fun a job

The children were lost wandering Nun the great big black blob

When the Divine Eye returned

Ra-Atum wept unconcerned

And so humans came from his tears

And then in coming years

Shu and Tefenet came together

It would seem as though they were almost tether

Producing Geb the earth god

And Nut the sky goddess, how odd

For father earth and mother sky

Instead of mother earth and father sky were the birds would fly

They were entwined so close

That a problem was soon in pose

Nut’s children could not be born

And so apart they were torn

With aid from Heh gods, Shu help Nut above the earth

And so it was possible for her to give birth

Nut was said to swallow the sun

That sounds painful not very fun

The children were born in pairs

Osiris and Isis

Seth and Nephthys

They didn’t like shares

Osiris and Isis grew to love in the womb

Though Nephthys raged and hated Seth, that was all dark and gloom

 

In Hermopolitan, nine became eight

Nun and Naunet – water

Huh and Hauhet – unendingness

Kut and Kauket – darkness

Amon and Amaunet – air

The Ogdoad they were called, and they were said to create

The world

Together from the cosmic egg they unfurled

 

In Memphite, there were no nine, there were no eight, and there was one

Ptah was deemed creator god and that was done

With others being a part of him

With abilities, intelligence and will filling him to the brim

 

In Theban, new and probably not improved

But the cosmogony did move

Amon was all there was

Said to create himself, alright let’s pause

Thebes was the first city and was the foundation for others

Amon had no fathers or mothers

Thebes was the Eye of Ra, Amon’s son

 

Death, coming with flaring wings

Isn’t a true end but always brings

New beginnings, there is nothing to fear

For you shall meet death be it now or in many years

You could walk the Fields of Reeds with gods

If you have favorable odds

If you know you have lived in sin

You might not like what is waiting for you around the bin

A monster is waiting

To devour your heart if you got a bad rating

 

Spells were there to help the soul along

Through their journey which was incredible long

Through rivers, islands, deserts, and lakes of fire

Wouldn’t want a job even if they would hire

The text was taken

And placed in a book that was hard to be mistaken

This was called the Book of the Dead

It is said

That the spells helped overcome

The four crocodiles of the west, what scum

Reaching the throne room of Osiris, the dead must declare

Innocence of crimes before forty-two judges, who honestly didn’t care

The heart was weighed on scales against a feather

The tip of the scales would determine whether

If it tipped in favor

Judged pure and spirits gained prizes that they would savor

They could move among the gods

It didn’t work for those who had bad odds

If judged heavier than Maat, carefully you should tread

For the Devourer of the Dead

Lies in wait for her meal

 

Ba and Ka separate

When the soul and life energy disconnect it is more than likely too late

It rejoins as the akh in the underworld

Together living has the spiritual form it curled

Each night the pharaoh’s Ba would come to his mummy

In the burial chamber, his body was as limb as a dummy

Each sun rise the pharaoh was renewed for a new life

Spells and rituals help ensure the Ba had all it needed without too much strife

 

Seventy day it takes

It’s not like sitting down for tea and cakes

Priests embalm the body

The canopic jars that store the organs aren’t really that gaudy

All organs were kept except the brain

Which is scrambled in the skull, well at least the mummy can’t feel pain

Because after it’s scrambled, it’s yanked through the nose

It was unimportant who knows

Each jar was topped with the head of a different god

They took care to ensure that the jars were not flawed

Each had a specific organ

Intestines

Stomach

Lungs

Liver

The gods didn’t look like Medusa the gorgon

They left the heart in the body believed to house

Memory and thoughts they couldn’t be separated unlike a spouse

Sprinkled with natron to dehydrate the body and avoid decay

The skin dries out and turns gray

The priest then wraps the body in linen dripped

In oils that withdrawn microbial growth and moisture gripped

Then decorated with amulets for protection

And deter monster from their direction

 

King!

How that has a nice ring

Osiris the first

Hard work built up a thirst

His consort and wife

Sister Isis, she was put through much strife

Revered he was

Because he made humanity pause

To learn the ways

Of farming and civilization that would last till the end of days

His rule was threatened by Seth, his brother

Is there any other

Seth was full of rage

Filling a horror novel page by page

No matter the story

For all are more or less gory

Seth took his brother

And did smother

The life from his body

Knowing Seth, he probably sang a song so bawdy

Then cut him up

Poured his blood in a cup

And scattered his parts far and wide

Making sure to hide

 

Nothing greater than a mother’s love

Such a gentle touch that it sets off flying dove

Isis wears the solar dish

Between two cow horns, there was no wind swish

She protects the pharaohs, as a faithful wife

She breaths life

Isis embodies undying love of wife and mother

With the solar disk, she is associated with another

Hathor, patroness of lovers and goddess who protects children and pregnant women

We’re all just swimmin’

In love

 

Sister, sister help me please

Isis and Nephthys wept in their grief there was no ease

They begged and pleaded for his spirit to return

Grief and sadness did churn

While Isis vows that she shall call

Even if he doesn’t come at all

 

Isis searched and searched

She never rested or perched

Traveling to Lebanon to find him

The coffin was washed up on Byblos’ brim

Entangled in roots and a small tree

It grew tall and beautiful then it was free

Cut down to form a pillar

She knew Seth was the killer

Isis sat at the tree and weep

The royal handmaidens were impressed and they did keep

Isis as a wet nurse for the prince

Given a finger instead of a breast since

The boy won her favor and wished to give him a gift

Mortal life was to shift

Eternal life

To burn the mortality way Osiris wife

Placed him in a fire

Wonder if they’ll again hire

When the queen came back

Isis demanded they hack

The tree in half

When the coffin was exposed there was no reason to laugh

When Isis cried in grief

The favored prince’s lilfe was made brief

 

Fred and George Weasley, Loki, Hermes, and Mercury

It’s a trickster nursery

Thoth deity of the moon, magic, writing and wisdom, he hands out advice

He mediates conflicts and tries for peace, does that peace have a price

He recorded the result of Death’s judgement of the heart

Thoth gave the verdict no matter if someone was doom from the start

 

A prince discovers

That near Memphis the ground covers

The book of Thoth, it’s filled with spells

He breaks in to steal it, what tales

Despite warnings from ghosts

Prince Setna steals the book, let’s hope he doesn’t boasts

He meets Tabubu, a beautiful female

Before she let him bed her, she use blackmail

Making him kill his kids and leave her his wealth

At least she wasn’t going to steal his health

When he agrees, he winds up

Knocked out and naked on the street, yup

His children were alive

He didn’t take that faithful dive

And returned the Book of Thoth

 

Amaunet

Female Amon and a primordial

Her place in Hermopolitian Ogdoad was historical

She was worshipped at Thebes with Amon and Mut

Amon

Wind and things that are hidden

Part of a triad, he could not be gotten ridden

Along with Mut and Khonsu

Anubis

Funerary god, with the form of a jackal

I wonder if he’s laugh is a cackle

He guards and protects the head

He was ruling at the head

Of the underworld before

Osiris came ashore

Now he holds the scales that measure the heart against the feather

Horus

The Sun and Moon in his eyes

Ruler of the day while the sun rises and cries

He has many forms and many names

Osiris

Dead king that watches over the nether world

Rejuvenated in his son Horus it was quite a whirl

With eternal life he was worshipped at Abydos and Philae

Sekhmet

Was in a triad

She was a little mad

Lion goddess she was

With Ptah and Nefertem was within reach of her paws

Seth

Son of Geb and Nut

In the form of an animal but

No modern day zoological term is there

Regard as the god of the desert, how bare

Also of foreign lands

 

With Foreign lands

Comes new plans

A camel ride

Couldn’t get it to move faster even if I tried

But the sights I saw

From coastline to the Sahara Desert, the savannahs and rain forests oh how I was in awe

The jungles and mountains it is surreal

The Nile is still a part of the African deal

 

Swaying in the wind, bending up the weight

Overgrown is better than any gate

Trees have a spirit that has a voice

Understood by only those that choice

To understand the language

 

When cut down and used for material

The wood should be treated like something ethereal

To preserve the protective voice of the tree

They can be rather tricky too you see

Tripping people with their roots or prick with their thorns

 

From those thrones fall seeds

Who knows where that leads

Maybe a cosmic egg

But not everyone is a creator so let’s take your ego down a peg

Gu, the heavenly blacksmith

He was to the Fon people quite a myth

Brought down in the form of an iron sword

He began the move toward

Making the Earth habitable

Giving up was not a concept that was fathomable

Taught ironworking and show people how to fashion

Tools with passion

They could take care of themselves

In families of dozens or twelves

 

Amma creator

Don’t know if he was mater or pater

Made blacksmith from the placenta of Nommo

He had no fire, oh no

Stole a piece of the sun

Then came to earth on celestial ark, hun

 

Death was never there

Until humanity no longer dared to care

Due to misbehavior

The humans lost the gods favor

The world was two parts

Doesn’t mean it has two hearts

Living in the upper

Lower for those that have had their last supper

The world was backwards and up-side down

Where a frown is a smile and a smile is a frown

The people sleep during the sun light

And walk in the dead of night

 

Death came to suckle

Wearing a cloak no pants or buckle

With woman there was nothing

Snaring men while blushing

 

Such reliance

This was not an exact science

Personification of the animals all around

They speak, talk, think, and fell emotions as the walk on the ground

They are teachers

And humans are the lechers

Soaking up the knowledge

They never went to college

Elephants the wise

Snakes the immortals and never dies

Spiders the tricksters

The audience snickers

 

Run away, run away, get away

At the end of the day

Wipe the sweat from your brow

Bent over in a bow

Eshu

Woo

He plays tricks and plays

With his own personal aims

Telling the high god lies

About someone who tries

To steal his yams

By the pounds not the grams

In the palace he creeps

Takes high god’s sandals and leaps

Leaving his prints in the dirt

Oh what can a prank hurt

They were plain as day

Everyone was called their way

But no matches fit

Until the high god puts his in the pit

With the trick played

Eshu’s punishment was laid

To earth he went each new rising sun

The high god made sure Eshu had no fun

Each night he came

To relay all that he saw he claim

Becoming the messenger

Of the gods and all those that were their reveler

 

From blistering heat and endless deserts

To a place that there was a wall on the outskirts

Peace and balance

There are many talents

Yin and Yang balancing of the opposing forces

Keeping everything on its courses

Light and dark

The difference was stark

Heat and cold

Young and old

Hardness and softness

Anger and calmness

Dryness and wetness

It’s beautiful and breathless

Masculinity and femininity

One and two, no trinity

 

Feng Shui relates to home décor

There’s more

In the furniture layout

Promoting balance, health, and harmony without a doubt

 

Religions, there are three

Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism it be

Confucianism has certain rules

Not to take lightly or for fools

Respect, generosity, and honor

Family bonds, society, and worship of the ancestors

Toa

Dao

All-powerful force that exist among nature

Teaches that people should live in harmony with all creature

With a simple lifestyle without anger

People could gain immortality even if it was a clamber

Buddha, you seen him in his little pose

With enlightenment everyone knows

Life is full of human suffering

With desires that everywhere is offering

Desires that continue through lives

Each one could be written in the archives

Cycle can be broken

With a path of compassion that need not be spoken

 

The house has its own gods

What were the odds

Door guardians at the front

Let’s be honest and blunt

Deities in the bedchambers

They were spectators

Though the most important

Where those whose duties were never shortened

The kitchen gods who had a duty

They were rather snooty

Make annual visits to heaven

They didn’t end at seven

To report on the family’s behavior

The family probably wanted to win its favor

Twenty-third day of the final month the mouth would close

For the family all knows

That for the god to not report

They would have to thwart

Smearing their mouth with sweet paste

 

Looked to higher powers

That pours and showers

Down to control the world around

Ba goddess that the human form of drought, starving water from the ground

Gong Gong opposite of Ba with disastrous floods

Yu-huang sky god let’s hope he doesn’t draw bloods

Fei Lian and Feng Po Po were wind gods

So many they’re in bunches and wads

Dong-yue da-di assists Yu-huang keeping watch

While from birth to death humans find their notch

Heng O is the moon

Don’t know if you can see her at noon

Ji-Nu is the stars

There’s a different from Mars

Han has his own river

Hou Ji is god of millet, such important food

He has no reason to be crude

Niu Wang guards the cattle

Unlike horses they weren’t ridden into battle

Pa-cha protects the crops

So the locusts don’t eat them all until number drops

Shen-nung reflects the agrarian roots

Created the plow and taught man who wore boots

Learned skills in agriculture and medicine

It would be many years until the birth of Edison

Fan-kui was the butchers’ god

Sun-pi was the shoemakers’, oh how awed

Cheng-huang was worshipped for his protection

He’s added to the collection

Of cities and supplying the crops with rain

And Tai-yi is supreme deity

 

Yi killed nine suns

What deadly funs

Di Jun was angered and condemned Yi and wife

Chang E to a life

On Earth as mortals

The world wasn’t split in quartiles

Yi went in search of the elixir of eternal life

For him and his wife

Possessed by the Queen Mother of the West

Tyrant goddess on Mount Junlun that holds the secret close to her chest

She gave him enough for two

So few

With a warning if one person drank all

They would feel a call

To leave the world for higher regions

He had to be careful didn’t have an army or a bunch of legions

To be his guard

Or try to hard

Yi took the elixir back home

He didn’t want to roam

To Chang E who missed her life in heaven

And the days haven’t even numbered eleven

With warning in mind she considered

But she was bitter

Taking it all to return to heaven

By jove is this women a goddess or seven

But she was scared and asked for advice

Wonder how big is the price

An astrologer suggested going to the moon

Her husband left for work at noon

Be free of travails and accusations

Maybe she had hallucinations

When Yi left for the day

Chang E went on her way

Drinking both elixirs and floated to the moon

She was a bit of a loon

She wanted to call out

she never had a doubt

But could only croak like a toad

She chose to go down this road

Her only companion was a hare and old man

The hare ground medicine with a mortar and put it in a pan

The old man tried to chop down a cassia tree in vain

How lame

There was nothing but a black abyss

Nothing was separated almost like death’s kiss

Sun and moon had not formed

Seas and mountains there stormed

 

Pan Gu was born within a cosmic egg

Grew in darkness and slept for many years but he would never beg

When he woke there was a decision

And order was created through calm waves or clashing collision

He split the egg with an axe

The lighter parts rose to form the sky, he used the egg’s cracks

The heavier parts sank to form the earth

Didn’t want the sky and earth to meet, this job had no mirth

He stood and stretched

His foot print on the earth was etched

Weary and tired

Sleep was all he desired

In his sleep he fell to death

And with his last breath

He formed the wind and clouds

His voice thunder shrouds

His left eye the moon

And the right the sun which shines the brightest at noon

Mountains and rivers from his body

Creation he simply embody

The hairs form the trees, flowers, and plants

Ticks turned into animals and fishes even simple ants

 

Yu the great was a dragon

Couldn’t be pulled by a wagon

His father was Gun

Who had been sent from heaven to control a flood, hun

Emperor Shun wanted Yu to find a way

To control the flooding both night and day

For thirteen years he labored

Unceasingly to be favored

His hands were worn and feet calloused

His mind probably was ballast

Barely able to hobble

His head went back and forth like a bobble

Skin was black through sun exposure

All he wanted was an answer and closure

He was thin like a rake

Probably wanted to submerge and soak in the lake

Final he was rewarded

His means were honest not sordid

Artificial canals was his answer

The water moved like a dancer

Draining the water into the sea

Now the flooding would flee

Shun abdicated in his favor

Yu was the first emperor of the Xia Dynasty for his hard labor

 

Shu of the Northern Sea

Hun of the Southern Sea, they both be

Came together in Hun Dun

That Chaos emperor of the center, hun

Most hospitable of them

So they did come

Shu and Hu wanted to repay his kindness

But in their good intention blindness

They each had seven functions

And so their thoughts and ideas came to junctions

Sight, hear, taste, and more

While Hun Dun had none and found such things to be a chore

Showing gratitude they bore holes into his body

The work wasn’t shoddy

With chisels and drills with one hole a day

Surely there was a faster way

After seven days they were done

Hun Dun was killed, so there was none

Though it wasn’t all bad

From Chaos’s death came order, no reason to be sad

 

Karma, we’ve heard of it

Retribution to a person for their pasts deeds, how it fit

Samsara is the Buddhist life cycle

You can’t buy your way out with tical

Deeds of your past determine your life in the future

You place is like suture

With enlightenment the cycle ends

And nirvana is around the bends

 

Death is only temporary

Unlike Greece when you take the ferry

This is where you’re held accountable

Your past transgressions surmountable

Until your time ends and cycle begins anew

Souls abound in and there are a slew

Ten Courts of Hell

Each and every avoided by those who do well

Each court has its own punishment

There is very little nourishment

The tenth and final level is realm

Final judgment and reincarnation at the helm

Each new cycle you forget

With Aunt Meng’s special potion you are in her debt

 

Buddha had a disciple named Radish

He might have been a little brattish

He had a journey to go on

Mean for brain not brawn

Left his mother with a sum of money

Wasn’t that son such a sweet honey

To give to the priest who came knocking

But the mother gave the monks nothing and lied, how shocking

When he returned

He had not learned

That when she died, she went to hell for tormenting

And she wasn’t renting

When Radish himself was grew wise and old

To attain saint he wasn’t that bold

Renamed Mulian and then learned

Just what his mother had done to be burned

And live in hell

He wanted to help and make her well

He met Yama the king

It had a nice ring

Yama tried to dissuade him

But determination filled him to the brim

Mulian called upon the officials

He didn’t have to sign anything with his initials

Who were responsible for sentencing, recording, and dispatching the sinners

Not all of us are winners

He learned his mother was in Avici Hell

Oh low she fell

Lowest level there was

And so he did pause

As he encountered fifty demons

Each new meeting didn’t leave him beaming

Mulian asked the Jailer where his mom be

Jailer climber the highest tower to see

When he roll called

The answer no from all

Except from level seven

At least there weren’t eleven

She was nailed to a bed with forty-nine nails

Mulian could not make the bails

Buddha himself could only pull

This isn’t a trick or a load of bull

Mulian went to him for help

And he wasn’t no little whelp

Buddha was merciful

Especially to those that were always faithful

After the Avalambana Festival on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, it happened

With happiness he was clappin’

Lady Leek Stem was free

Though he had another trial he was filled with glee

Mulian had to wander the streets where he lived

And thrived

Beg at random ‘til there was a house with a wealthy man

Who probably spat in a pan

There a black dog came out and tugged at his cassock

In a frantic

The dog was his mother

Oh brother

Her human form returned

Which her son had earned

After recitation for seven days and night

 

Zhi Nu, goddess of spinning, crafting and weaving

Spent all her time with her job and never leaving

Spun the clouds into robes

That were so beautiful, nothing like them would be found around the globes

All for her father, Yu-Huang the Jade Emperor

He valued his daughter like a treasurer

With work and no play, she was soon given a break

Why not some cake

Descending to earth

For all that it was worth

She fell in love with a mortal

Like a transition through a magic portal

Niu Lang was his name and he was a cowherd

He made her heart soar like a bird

Yu-huang allowed the marriage

They were whisked away in a carriage

But Zhi Nu neglected her duties

And now the earth saw no more of her beauties

Separation was but the only answer

Almost as if he had speared his daughter’s heart like a lancer

On opposite sides of the Milky Way

Mortals could only see them by night but not by day

She rests as Vega in Lyra the harp

Her longing and sadness was sharp

While he sits as Altair in Aquila the eagle

He sat their regal

With help from the magpies, the lovers meet

On the seventh day of the seventh lunar month will a bridge appear, oh sweet

Dao or Tao, the way or path

Don’t need to be good a math

Encompasses everything in the universe

It isn’t a curse

One for that that exists

You don’t need the different lists

Live in harmony with everyone and everything

Including all that you bring

Complete unity

There is no immunity

Social order only through natural relations

There are no applications

Wisdom and enlightenment come to only those who live in harmony with the path

 

Iron Crutch

Iron Clutch

Was taught by Xi Wand Mu, Queen mother of the west

He was blessed

Club foot he had and so was gifted

On his feet his body shifted

An iron crutch and thus gain a name

Li Xuan he wasn’t lame

Taught the Dao way

To Zhong-li Quan who was to relay

Messages to heaven

 

Visits an inn

Met Han Zhong li, who traveled around the bin

Start to heat a pot of wine

He sure hoped it tasted fine

Lu Dongbin fell asleep and dreamed

At his endless fortuned he beamed

With good fortune for fifty years

We was left in tears

When he realized his luck ran out

He wanted a different route

Disgraced his name and family in ruins

What was he doin’

Then he woke

He barely spoke

Only minutes passed

With a glance he cast

Still in the inn and sitting by the old man

And he formed a plan

He believed the world was vain

He could not remain

Left to live in the mountains to see Dao and achieve

Without having to thieve

Immortality

 

His disciple would be

Han Xiang great nephew to philosopher you see

He almost reached eternal life

Until the day he fell on a knife

His master took him to heave to the tree

Which bore fruits of eternal life, they weren’t for free

Han tried to climb, but slipped and fell

Back to earth this won’t end well

He gained immortality before he went splat

And became pancake flat

 

Cao Guojiu had a sister

During this time it was the same mister

Went to the mountains to escape corruption

It caused such disruption

He came to a river

But had no money not a coin or sliver

Tried to impress

As it wasn’t obvious by his dress

The boatman with a golden tablet

Tricking wasn’t a habit

Cao was ashamed of what he’d done

Threw the tablet away so he had none

The boat man was Lu Dongbin he was

He thought and pause

He took Cao Guojiu as his disciple

 

Zhang Guo rides a white mule

Doesn’t he think he’s cool

Skilled at Necromancy

It wasn’t anything fancy

Grant offspring to childless couples

 

Lan Caihe was neither male nor female

Couldn’t read prints words or braille

She handled medicinal herbs

Going where nothing disturbs

Collected from the side of a mountain

Were plants sprung like water in fountains

Met a beggar in rags

He had no bags

Body covered in sores

She had medicine in stores

Healing took a while but she didn’t give up

She gave him water in a cup

Beggar was iron crutch

Though he didn’t look like much

With her kindness she was rewarded with immortality

She was calm and collected not doing much in vitality

She toured the country as a minstrel

 

He Xiangu was immortal and female

She wasn’t frail

Told to grind and eat mother of pearl stone

Did as she was told without a complaint or groan

Found from the mountain on which she lived

She thrived

Once done immortality was hers to gain

 

Meng Zhang a dragon

Azure Dragon of the East with wood carries it on his back no need for a cart or wagon

His season his spring

 

Ling Guang a bird

Vermillion Bird of the South

Burning with fire in its mouth

Her season is summer

 

Jian Bing a tiger

White Tiger of the West

A metal breast plate at his chest

His season is fall

 

Zhi Ming a tortoise

Black Tortoise of the North

Water he calls forth

His season is winter

 

Huang-Long a dragon

Yellow Dragon of the Center

In the soil our bodies lay and enter

The earth he shifts

Center and balance he gifts

 

Clamber up the dragons back

There is no fear to be had so that is lack

A ride along the sea side

And watch the shifting tide

To the Americas we go

For there is a knowing glow

And see the native tribes all around

 

Hunting, feeding

With sacrifices and dancing there was pleading

Animals are part of nature

With all creature

Relationship between the two is not merely sport

They food supply was simply too short

It’s one of respect for that which sustenance the tribe

They had no scribe

Ceremonies pay respect and ensure

The ceremonies are always pure

The souls pass on after successful hunt

 

Shamans are healer-priests

They have no reason for big feasts

Serve as mediators between humans and spirits

They earn their merits

Must call upon a guardian

They don’t tolerate tardiness

Through fasting and prayer

Which they would never take lightly they swear

For answers

 

Before human there were holy people

They met in a lodge not a steeple

To talk about game

Animals disappearing, finding them was their only aim

A black figure appeared

He was weird

No one knew his name

He was thought to be blame

Two saw put on the coat of a crow to fly away

At the end of the day

Assembled company then decided

With agreeing thoughts that guided

To lay a ploy to find the animals

They knew they weren’t cannibals

Transformation into a puppy to be carried

It was so scary that in his fur puppy’s nose was buried

By the crow

Talk never came to a fighting roe

Crow came and took puppy

Was he a guppy

To a place called Rim Hill

What if this place had already reached its fill

Home of the black god, who animals all belonged

With him the animals were all along

Gate keeper was a porcupine

He was no Einstein

With turquoise rode for stirring fire and opening gates

And maybe a few crates

Puppy knocked him out and the gate was opened

What puppy saw had him frozen

All animals escaped from black god the crow

 

Their Medicine Wheel

Symbol of Life’s journey that is never ending so deal

Along the wheel are four cardinal point and colors

In the middle there is balance

 

Towards the East

The Color Red

Success, strength, power, and vision

 

Towards the North

The Color Blue

Defeat, Trouble Challenge, survival

 

Towards the West

The Color Black

Death

 

Towards the South

The Color White

Peace Happiness serenity

 

Raven, Raven soaring high

Father Raven in the sky

Created the ground

Then man to walk around

With various plants and animal that trot

The predators fought

Then woman last as man companion

Their love filled the Grand Canyon

Raven was a teacher

As a man he disguised his feature

Instructing the use of animals and child care

How to make fire, they had no use for a chair

 

Happy hunting grounds

In fields of lush greens with patches of browns

A place after death with plenty of game

Helps to perfect their archer’s aim

Immortal soul is judged by the Great Spirit

Who is fair and has no dearest

Once loved ones passed there be a time of mourning

They take their death as a warning

Before ceremonies ended and the next journey began

 

Young girl was forced by her father

He walked her to the altar

To marry a dog

At least it wasn’t a frog

The marriage went well

But with many children things fell

Father drowns Dog

‘Til his lungs were clog

Children try for revenge

But they could not avenge

In their failure their sent away

When this happened they weren’t very gay

A bird disguised as an old man

Calculates a plan

Takes the girl as his wife

And they leave to live a new life

On the sea in a kayak

 

Father retrieves her

The Bird was a blur

Making a storm starts brewing

It was well in within his viewing

The scared father tries to give the girl back

He flings her like a sack

The woman clings to the boat

She doesn’t float

Father cuts her fingers off

With water in her lungs, she can’t help but cough

She slips into the sea

She wasn’t able to flee

From her fingers the sea beasts are formed

In the water she wasn’t able to be warmed

She drops to the bottom of the sea to for the Sea Spirit

She could bear it

Her father joins her after being swept away by his grief

He was mainly in disbelief

With her husband the dog

He sat beside her like a frog

The dog guards her

She didn’t stir

As her father torments the humans

 

When giants roamed the earth

They had very little worth

They caught and ate children

There were never a million

Coyote crossed a rocky place on day

And met a giant on his way

Wanting to teach him a lesson

So that the causalities of murdered children would lessen

He persuaded the monster to him build

Giant was being tricked not killed

A lodge for sweat baths

The Giant chose his paths

Claiming it would make him agile

But with big bones he wouldn’t be fragile

When the inside was filled with steam

The coyote’s snickering eyes did glean

Coyote spoke of a miracle

His hypnotic words were lyrical

By breaking his own leg and mending

This will probably have a poor ending

Using deer leg, he took a rock

And timing it with an internal clock

Pushing it into the lodge he broke it

Sending chips and bits in a flying fit

Giant felt the broken leg and was fooled

And soon would be schooled

Coyote spat and chanted demanding healing

His thoughts were no longer reeling

Giant felt coyote’s real leg and was astonished

He didn’t understand that he was being admonished

When offered the chance the giant agreed

Coyote did the deed

Screaming in pain as his legs were broken

This was simply a token

With instructions to spit

The giant was without wit

The giant spat until his mouth was dry

Coyote was preparing to say bye

But the pain was unbearable and wouldn’t mend

The giant wouldn’t actually meet his end

He as begging for help

He did cry, weep, and yelp

Coyote left the child-eater in agony

 

Fly around the world to see

All that there had ever or will ever be

From Greece, to Rome

To Scandinavia to the British Isles

From Egypt to Southern Africa

China to North America

 

In the end

Each mythology did send

A little bit of itself

To each new believer for him or herself

 


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